Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, has announced a £4m recovery package for London's tourism, leisure, hospitality and cultural industries, which have been badly affected by the events of 11 September.

The money, which comes from the London Development Agency, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and other Government sources will be available to help counteract the recent business downturn.

People are understandably nervous, but the tourist industry is vital to London's economy, and we must all work together to bring visitors back to London, said Livingstone. Tourism currently employs 275, 000 people in London directly and is worth £8b to London's economy.

The bid for the emergency money was made by the London Tourism Action Group (LTAG), which earlier this week channeled £500,000 of Government funding, originally destined to promote London oversees, into a tourism recovery in the Capital. Members of the LTAG include the Greater London Authority, the London Tourist Board and the English Tourism Council.

A dedicated LTAG support team has been established to oversee the delivery of the support package in the coming weeks.